International tournaments tend to bring the best out of Diego Forlan, and Thursday was no exception.

Making his 100th senior international appearance with Uruguay, Forlan marked the occasion in style. The 34-year-old legend rifled home a near-post shot to give Uruguay a 2-1 lead on Nigeria early in the second half of their Group B game in Salvador, Brazil, at the FIFA Confederations Cup.

Uruguay went on to win 2-1, helping their chances of reaching the semifinals. Uruguay face Tahiti in the final group game; Nigeria face Spain.

Edinson Cavani set up the goal, laying off a perfect final ball for Forlan on the left side of Nigeria's box. Forlan buried his first-time shot high to the near post past Nigeria keeper Victor Enyeama.

It was the 34th goal in what has been a glittering international career for Forlan.

Forlan made his first international appearance for Uruguay in March 2002, against Saudi Arabia. In 2010, he led Uruguay to the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup before losing to the Netherlands. For his outstanding performances in South Africa, Forlan was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player.

On Thursday, he became the first Uruguay player to reach 100 caps in a career. In an interview with FIFA.com before the match, he said he was proud to reach the milestone.

It's a matter of pride, being the first player to play all these matches for the Uruguay team.

I saw an article today, and I said the same thing yesterday—through all the things I've experienced in my career, I never imagined I'd be playing my 100th match at the Confederations Cup.

And the match tomorrow (Thursday) means a lot. Obviously it's 100 matches for me, but it's a key game and we have to win in order to reach the next phase.

It's a matter of great pride to wear the light blue shirt so many times, and I hope I can continue doing this.

Uruguay took the lead in the first half on Diego Lugano's 19th-minute goal. John Obi Mikel responded for Nigeria in the 37th minute, and the game was tied 1-1 at halftime.